Lonely...

...isolated, alone, lonesome, friendless, with no one to turn to, forsaken, abandoned, rejected, unloved, unwanted, outcast; gloomy, sad, depressed, desolate, forlorn, cheerless, down, blue.  (taken from my online thesaurus)

I was reluctant to write this post, especially with the title "Lonely".  I don't like to draw attention to myself nor do I want a flock of people coming to me after reading my post.  I don't like to show people my weaknesses or my needs.  I try to be self-sufficient and independent....  But it seems that tonight, my emotions are giving in...  I feel lonely!! 

It's not the first time I've felt this way in Haiti... What did I do last time to make this feeling go away?

I played my guitar, I spent time with God... but most of all, I tried to convince myself that I didn't need anyone.  Tonight my confession is, that I do need people.  God created us to live in community; to live in a family.  To belong. To be accepted.

I must admit that I haven't been very successful at making a community for myself in Haiti.  Is it because I've been so introspective?  So concerned with my own needs, that I fail to see the needs of others. No one wants to be around someone who has "themselves" on their mind... all the time!  This week I prayed that God would help me be more interested in the needs of others... this is hard to do, especially when you're feeling empty!

It's almost been 10 months since I left "home".... Australia.  In just 15 days I will be boarding an aeroplane to visit the ones I love.  It will be a loooooonnnnnggg flight home, but the LOVE on the other end will be worth receiving with arms wide open!

In the meantime I ask for your prayers... xo

Honor

I was reminded of this song tonight, "This is my desire".  

I can remember singing it as a little girl, with such conviction and sincerity of heart.  I'm asking God to reclaim his rightful place in my heart; that above all else, I would desire to bring Him honor in my life through the choices I make.

What does it  mean to honor someone?

"To honor someone means to give them respect and high esteem, to treat them as being special and of great worth." (p.71 of The Love Dare)

To honor God means to make choices that bring respect to His name; choices that show that He is of great worth to you.  Tonight I'm confessing the countless times I've failed to bring honor to His name...

I'm realizing how weak my strength is and how much I need the power of the Holy Spirit to help me overcome sin.

"...God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him"

Philippians 2:13   This is my prayer.  Let it be so.  Amen

Best kept secret...

Today I discovered that Wilson is a better cook than I!!

For months I've been serving him average dinners... edible but nothing special...

and tonight he cooks the most deliciously flavored chicken.

Presenting:  Wilson... my best kept secret....

Wilson begins preparing the chicken fillets.... Haitian style!

Marinating the chicken with orange and lime juice.

Smashing the garlic, spring onion and maggi seasoning.

Boiling the chicken with a bouquet of herbs.  Add hot chilli sauce.

Chicken served with mashed potato, broccoli, green beans and zucchini!

No longer a secret Master Chef.  From now on, I'll do the washing up.

Bon Appetit Wilson!

Weekend adventure

This weekend Wilson and I went with four other teachers to visit the Citadel in Cap Haitien, in Haiti's north.  It was a loooonnng drive to get there, maybe 9 hours in total?  We drove for 3 hours on Friday afternoon and slept overnight on the porch of a medical clinic.  Then we were on the road again at 6am and arrived at the Citadel some time on Saturday afternoon.

Jill lovingly prepared snack bags for the road trip.  These contained chocolate, trail mix, popcorn, history of the citadel, riddles and a game of BINGO.  I wanted to share what was on the BINGO card because it's so unlike anything you'd look out for on a typical Aussie road trip.  We had to look out for:

1. a person cutting sugarcane
2. person with a gun
3. burning trash
4. person urinating on the street
5. rice fields
6. cow tied to a tree
7. pig eating trash
8. a Haitian eating a mango
9. four people on a moto-taxi (motorbike)
10. street market
11. banana tree
12. chickens
13. goat family

But what we weren't expecting to see was the drive shaft to our Toyota Land Cruiser.  

Josiah holding the drive shaft.

As we were passing through a small community we heard a sound... Nathaniel stopped to check under the car.  Out in the middle of nowhere we had lost the 4 bolts that connected our drive shaft to the car.  God provided a local mechanic and 30 minutes later + 1000 gourdes ($25 USD) we were on our way again. 

 Jill and Amber waiting for the car to be fixed!

The drive continued to be bumpy.  Nathaniel had to dodge many holes in the road... and I'm not talking about minor pot holes.  The drive was also  very windy as we curved around numerous mountains.  I enjoyed the change of scenery from the bustling city of Port-au-prince.
Attached is a small video clip to help you get the "feel" of it... though the ride looks quite smooth in the video!

I am not a fan of long drives; sitting with my knees pushed against the back of the seats in front of me, cramped in one spot for hours. But what was most annoying was not having a restroom for hours!! Princess Kellyanne could not cope with using the "bush" as a restroom... not enough privacy... too many people on a walkabout.  So  I waited til we got to the Citadel!

The Citadel from a distance.  It took another 45 minutes to drive around the mountain and reach the Citadel entrance.

Apart from having a proper toilet... I'm sure you will agree that the Citadel was worth visiting.

Click here here for more pics of the Citadel, compliments of Amber!